Sorting content assets

ABSTRACT

A network device obtains a first number of stars associated with a fan rating of a first asset by a first user, and obtains a total first number of fan reviews of the first asset. The network device obtains a first release year associated with the first asset, and determines a first sorting value based on a function of the first number of stars, the total first number of reviews, and the first release year. The network device sorts the first asset among other assets using the determined first sorting value.

BACKGROUND

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Live Streaming (HLS) is a HTTP-basedmedia streaming communications protocol that involves breaking the mediastream into a sequence of file downloads. Each file may be downloaded asone portion of a transport stream. Each downloaded file may be played insequence to present a continuous media stream. As a given stream isplayed, the client may choose from multiple different alternativestreams containing the same content encoded at various data rates. Atthe beginning of a streaming session, the client downloads a playlistfile that specifies the different or alternate streams that areavailable.

In HLS, a given multimedia presentation is specified by a UniformResource Identifier (URI) to the playlist file, which itself consists ofan ordered list of media URIs and informational tags. Each media URIrefers to a media file that is a segment of a single continuous mediastream. To play a stream, a client first obtains the playlist file andthen obtains and plays each media file in the playlist in sequence.

Content assets such as, for example, video content assets (e.g., movies)may be streamed using HLS from a content delivery network (CDN) to aclient device for playback of the sequence of HLS files at the clientdevice. Users at the client devices may search the content assets hostedby the content delivery network to obtain lists of assets that arerelevant to the expressed interests of the users. From those lists, theusers may select a specific asset(s) that they desire to have streamedto their client device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram that depicts an exemplary network environment inwhich content assets are sorted, based on fan review or fanrating-related information, and provided to a user searching the contentassets;

FIG. 2 is a diagram that depicts exemplary components of the assetserver of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram that depicts exemplary components of the set-top boxof FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram that depicts an exemplary individual fan ratingsdatabase;

FIG. 5 is a diagram that depicts an exemplary cumulative asset fanratings database;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram that illustrates an exemplary process forobtaining and storing a user's fan review/rating of a content asset inthe individual fan rating database of FIG. 4, and updating thecumulative asset fan rating database of FIG. 5 based on the user's fanreview/rating;

FIG. 7 is a diagram that depicts an exemplary messaging diagramassociated with the exemplary process of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram that illustrates a first exemplary process forsearching a corpus of content assets, identifying assets that arerelevant to a search query, and sorting the identified assets based onasset fan rating-related information;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams that depict a sorting example associatedwith the exemplary process of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram that illustrates a second exemplary processfor searching a corpus of content assets, identifying assets that arerelevant to a search query, and sorting the identified assets based onasset fan rating-related information;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are diagrams that depict a sorting example associatedwith the exemplary process of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram that illustrates a third exemplary process forsearching a corpus of content assets, identifying assets that arerelevant to a search query, and sorting the identified assets based onasset fan rating-related information; and

FIGS. 13A and 13B are diagrams that depict a sorting example associatedwith the exemplary process of FIG. 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the sameor similar elements. The following detailed description does not limitthe invention.

Exemplary embodiments described herein implement processes for sortingcontent assets based on various different types of fan rating/fan reviewinformation. The processes described herein sort content assets,identified as results of content searches, based on fan rating/reviewinformation such as, for example, asset release date, cumulative numberof fan rating stars for each asset, number of fan reviews for eachasset, a most recent fan review date for each asset, and/or a sortingvalue assigned to each asset based on one or more functions. The sortingvalues may be determined using the one or more functions that may beconditionally applied based on the fan rating/review information foreach asset. The content asset sorting processes, described herein,therefore sort content assets based on data other than, or in additionto, merely the number of fan rating stars applied by users to eachasset. For example, processes described herein may additionally, oralternatively, use other fan rating/review information such as number offan reviews for each content asset and/or a calculated sorting parameterfor each asset.

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary network environment 100 in which contentassets are sorted, based on fan review or fan rating-relatedinformation, and provided to a user searching the content assets.Network environment 100 may include a an asset server 100, one or moreasset databases (DBs) 105, multiple fan rating DBs 110, a set-top box(STB) 115 and associated television (TV) 120, a mobile device 125, acomputer 130, and a network 135.

Asset server 100 includes a network device that receives content assetsearch requests from users, and provides sorted lists of content assetsthat are relevant to the search requests and which are sorted asdescribed herein. Asset server 100 may further retrieve and deliver oneor more of the content assets from the sorted lists to requesting usersvia network 135. Asset server 100 may implement a search engine 140 thatsearches a corpus of content assets (e.g., stored in asset DBs 105),using a search algorithm, to identify a list of one or more contentassets that are relevant to one or more search parameters contained inthe search request. Asset server 100, using exemplary processesdescribed herein, may further sort the identified list of relevantcontent assets before providing the sorted list of content assets touser 145 at either STB 115, mobile device 125 or computer 130.

Asset DBs 105 includes one or more network devices that store a datastructure that further stores content assets and associated metadata.The content assets may include any type of digital content, such as, forexample, image, video, or audio digital content. The video content mayinclude, for example, movies or TV episodes. The audio content mayinclude, for example, songs.

Fan rating DBs 110 includes one or more network devices that storemultiple data structures that further store data related to fan reviewsof content assets. Fan rating DBs 110 may include an individual fanratings DB 110-1 (not depicted in FIG. 1, but shown in FIG. 4) thatstores fan ratings data, and associated information, received fromindividual reviewing users. Individual fan ratings DB 110-1 is describedin further detail with respect to FIG. 4 below. Fan rating DBs 110 mayfurther include a cumulative asset fan ratings DB 110-2 (not depicted inFIG. 1, but shown in FIG. 5) that stores fan ratings for each contentasset that are accumulated from multiple different users for multipledifferent reviews of each content asset. Cumulative asset fan ratings DB110-2 is described in further detail with respect to FIG. 5 below.

STB 115 may include a network device that receives content assets, fromasset server 100, over network 135 for presentation to user 145 via TV120. STB 115 may, for example, receive the content assets via one ormore channels (e.g., Quadrature Amplitude Module (QAM) channels,Internet Protocol (IP) streams, etc.) over network 135. The content mayinclude, for example, video, audio or images. STB 115 may additionallyexecute an application (app) (not shown) that provides one or more userinterfaces that enable user 145 to interact with asset server 100 toconduct content asset searches.

Mobile device 125 may include a portable electronic device havingwireless communication capabilities that may communicate via network135. Mobile device 125 may include, for example, a laptop, palmtop ortablet computer having wireless capability; a cellular telephone (e.g.,a “smart” phone); or a personal digital assistant (PDA) having wirelesscapability. Computer 130 may include, for example, a desktop or laptopcomputer that connects to network 135 via wired connections.

STB 115, mobile device 125 and computer 130 may each execute a contentplayer. The content player may present or “play” content assets receivedfrom asset server 100. For example, if the content assets include videocontent, the content player may include a video media player that playsback video data streamed from asset server 100.

Network 135 may include one or more networks of various types including,for example, a satellite network, a telecommunications network (e.g., aPublic Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), Public Land Mobile Network(PLMN), a local area network (LAN), an Advanced Television SystemsCommittee (ATSC) standards-based network (e.g., over the air (OTA)network), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN),an intranet, the Internet, or a cable network (e.g., an optical cablenetwork). The PLMN may include a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)2000 PLMN, a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) PLMN, a LongTerm Evolution (LTE) PLMN and/or other type of PLMN. Network 135 may, insome implementations, include QAM channels (or other types of modulatedor broadcast channels) for delivering content assets and ElectronicProgram Guide (EPG) data to STB 115. Network 135 may enable asset server100 to retrieve content assets from asset DBs 105 and deliver thoseassets to devices (e.g., STB 115, mobile device 125 or computer 130)associated with user 145.

As depicted in FIG. 1, user 145 may send a search request 150 via a userdevice (e.g., mobile device 125 shown) to search engine 140 at assetserver 100. Search engine 140 may determine a list of content assetsthat are relevant to one or more search parameters contained in searchrequest 150. Asset server 100, using fan review-related informationretrieved 160 from fan rating DBs 110, may sort the list of contentassets using one of the exemplary sorting processes described herein andmay provide the sorted list of content assets 155 to user 145. User 145,via the user device, may subsequently select one or more of the contentassets from the sorted list of content assets 155 for delivery fromasset server 100. For example, in an implementation in which the contentassets comprise streaming TV or movie video, asset server 100 may streama TV or movie video to user 145 that was selected from the sorted listof content assets by user 145.

The configuration of network components of network environment 100illustrated in FIG. 1 is for illustrative purposes. Other configurationsmay be implemented. Therefore, network environment 100 may includeadditional, fewer and/or different components that may be configured ina different arrangement than those depicted in FIG. 1. For example, asingle user 145, and user 145's associated devices (e.g., STB 115,mobile device 125, and computer 130) are depicted in FIG. 1. However,multiple different users, each with their own associated devices, mayconnect to network 135 for searching content assets at asset server 100,and for receiving content assets delivered from asset server 100.

FIG. 2 is a diagram that depicts exemplary components of asset server100. Mobile device 125, computer 130, asset DBs 105 and fan rating DBs110 may be similarly configured. Asset server 100 may include a bus 210,a processing unit 220, a main memory 230, a read only memory (ROM) 240,a storage device 250, an input device 260, an output device 270, and acommunication interface 280. Bus 210 may include a path that permitscommunication among the components of asset server 100.

Processing unit 220 may include one or more processors ormicroprocessors, or processing logic, which may interpret and executeinstructions. Main memory 230 may include a random access memory (RAM)or another type of dynamic storage device that may store information andinstructions for execution by processing unit 220. ROM 240 may include aROM device or another type of static storage device that may storestatic information and instructions for use by processing unit 220.Storage device 250 may include a magnetic and/or optical recordingmedium. Main memory 230, ROM 240 and storage device 250 may each bereferred to herein as a “tangible non-transitory computer-readablemedium.”

Input device 260 may include one or more mechanisms that permit anoperator to input information to asset server 100, such as, for example,a keypad or a keyboard, a display with a touch sensitive panel, voicerecognition and/or biometric mechanisms, etc. Output device 270 mayinclude one or more mechanisms that output information to the operator,including a display, a speaker, etc. Input device 260 and output device270 may, in some implementations, be implemented as a user interface(UI) that displays UI information and which receives operator input viathe UI. Communication interface 280 may include a transceiver thatenables asset server 100 to communicate with other devices and/orsystems. For example, communication interface 280 may include wired orwireless transceivers for communicating via network 135.

The configuration of components of asset server 100 shown in FIG. 2 isfor illustrative purposes. Other configurations may be implemented.Therefore, asset server 100 may include additional, fewer and/ordifferent components than those depicted in FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 depicts exemplary components of STB 115. STB 115 may include atuner 300, a demodulator 310, a demultiplexer 320, a decoder 330, aprocessing unit 340, a modem 350, and a DVR unit 350. Tuner 300 mayselect and tune to specific broadcast television information by tuningto one of many different input channels. Each channel may be digitallymodulated using, for example, quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM),though other types of modulation may be used. Demodulator 310 maydemodulate the information in the channel selected by tuner 300 toproduce a transport stream (e.g., MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 transport stream)containing the audio, video and/or other information related to theselected channel (e.g., a TV program).

Demultiplexer 320 may select and decrypt compressed audio and video fromthe transport stream for the particular TV program that the user wishesto watch. Decoder 330 may decode and decompress the decrypted audio andvideo information for the selected TV program. Processing unit 340 mayinclude, for example, a microprocessor that controls the operationsperformed by tuner 300, demodulator 310, demultiplexer 320, decoder 330,modem 350 and DVR unit 360 based on user input (e.g., input receivedfrom the user via a remote control device). Modem 350 may send andreceive interactive data (e.g., digital program guide information) thatmay be processed by processing unit 340. DVR unit 360 may digitallyrecord, and store, audio and video content associated with theparticular TV program decoded by decoder 330.

The configuration of components of STB 115 in FIG. 3 is for illustrativepurposes only. Other configurations may be implemented. STB 115 mayinclude additional, fewer and/or different components than thosedepicted in FIG. 3. For example, STB 115 may include memory storage thatis not shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 is a diagram that depicts an exemplary individual fan ratings DB110-1. As shown, individual fan ratings DB 110-1 may include multipleentries 400, with each entry 400 including an asset identifier (ID)field 410, a number (#) of stars field 420, and a review date field 430.Each entry 400 of DB 110-1 may correspond to an individual fan rating ofa content asset received from user 145.

Asset ID field 410 may store data that uniquely identifies a specificcontent asset of numerous different content assets. # of stars field 420may store data that indicates how many stars are contained in the fanrating for a particular fan review of the specific content asset. Forexample, the stars may range from 1 star (lowest rating) to 5 stars(highest rating). A user may rate the content asset identified in assetID field 410 by assigning a number of stars, and the number of stars arestored in field 420. Review date field 430 may store data thatidentifies a date or a date and time, at which the user assigned thenumber of stars fan rating indicated in field 420, and the fan ratingand the review date are stored in fields 420 and 430, respectively forthe content asset identified in field 410.

The number, types, and content of the entries and/or fields inindividual fan ratings DB 110-1 in FIG. 4 are for illustrative purposes.Other types of data structures having different numbers of, types ofand/or content of, the entries and/or the fields may be implemented.Therefore, DB 110-1 may include additional, fewer and/or differententries and/or fields than those depicted in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is a diagram that depicts an exemplary cumulative asset fanratings DB 110-2. As shown, cumulative asset fan ratings DB 110-2 mayinclude multiple entries 500, with each entry 500 including an assetidentifier (ID) field 510, a release date field 520, a cumulative # ofstars field 530, a # fan reviews field 540, a most recent fan reviewdate field 550, and a sorting value field 560.

Asset ID field 510 may store data that uniquely identifies a specificcontent asset of numerous different content assets. Release date field520 may store data that identifies a date at which the asset identifiedin field 510 was originally released (or otherwise first made available)to the public.

Cumulative # of stars field 530 may store data that indicates a numberof stars averaged across all of the fan reviews for the asset identifiedin field 510. For a given content asset, all entries 400 of DB 110-1 maybe identified having an asset ID that matches the given content asset.For each identified entry 400, the number stored in the # of stars field420 may be retrieved, and all of the retrieved numbers of stars may beaveraged together to generate an average number of stars for the contentasset. This average number of stars may be stored in cumulative # ofstars field 530 of DB 110-2.

# fan reviews field 540 may store data that identifies the number ofdifferent fan reviews (e.g., reviews by different users). For a givencontent asset, all entries 400 of DB 110-1 may be identified having anasset ID that matches the given content asset. For each identified entry400, a number of fan reviews counter value is incremented. After all ofthe identified entries 400 have been counted, the incremented countervalue may be stored in # fan reviews field 540. Field 540, therefore,stores a total number of fan reviews that the content asset identifiedin field 510 has been given.

Most recent fan review date field 550 may store a date that indicatesthe most recent review date (i.e., most recent date a fan rating/reviewhas been received from a user) associated with the content assetidentified in field 410. For a given content asset, all entries 400 ofDB 110-1 may be identified having an asset ID that matches the givencontent asset. The review dates stored in the review date field 430 ofall of the identified entries 400 are compared to determine the mostrecent review date for the content asset. The determined most recentreview date is stored in field 550 of DB 110-2.

Sorting value field 560 may store data that indicates a sorting valuethat has been determined by applying a function to fan rating/reviewinformation. For example, in one embodiment, the sorting value may bedetermined as a function of the number of stars, the number of reviews,and/or the release year for a content asset. In another embodiment, twoor more different functions may be conditionally applied to fanrating/review information. In this embodiment, a first function may beapplied to the fan rating/review information based upon the satisfactionof a first condition, and a second function may be applied to the fanrating/fan review information based upon the satisfaction of a secondcondition, and so on.

The number, types, and content of the entries and/or fields incumulative asset fan ratings DB 110-2 in FIG. 5 are for illustrativepurposes. Other data structures having different numbers of, types ofand/or content of, the entries and/or the fields may be implemented.Therefore, DB 110-2 may include additional, fewer and/or differententries and/or fields than those depicted in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram that illustrates an exemplary process forobtaining and storing a user's fan review/rating of a content asset inindividual fan rating DB 110-1, and updating cumulative asset fan ratingDB 110-2 based on the user's fan review/rating. The exemplary process ofFIG. 6 may be implemented by asset server 100. The exemplary process ofFIG. 6 is described below with reference to the messaging diagram ofFIG. 7.

The exemplary process may include asset server 100 receiving an ID of acontent asset reviewed by a user (block 600), receiving a number ofstars fan rating by which the user rated the content asset (block 605),and obtaining a date or date/time of the user's review of the contentasset (block 610). As depicted in FIG. 7, user 145, via mobile device125, may review 700 a content asset. The review of the content asset mayinclude user 145 assigning a number of stars fan rating to the contentasset. For example, user 145 may assign a number of stars within a rangeof 1 and 5, with 1 being a lowest fan rating and 5 being a highest fanrating. As shown in FIG. 7, mobile device 125 may send an asset ID 705,a number of stars rating 710, and a date or date/time 715 of the fanreview by user 145 to asset server 100.

Asset server 100 may store the asset ID, the number of stars fan rating,and the date or date/time in an entry of individual fan ratings DB 110-1(block 615). FIG. 7 depicts asset server 100 sending an asset ID, anumber of stars rating, and a date/time of review 720 to fan ratings DB110. Referring to FIG. 4, the received asset ID may be stored in field410, the number of stars rating may be stored in field 420, and thereview date or date/time may be stored in field 430 of an entry 400 ofindividual fan ratings DB 110-1.

Asset server 100 may identify the asset in cumulative asset fan ratingsDB 110-2 and re-calculate the cumulative number of stars based on thenew number of stars rating obtained in block 605 (block 620). Assetserver 100 may obtain the previous cumulative number of stars containedin field 530 and may perform a calculation to determine a new averagenumber of stars based on the new number of stars rating obtained inblock 605. FIG. 7 depicts asset server 100 re-calculating 725 thecumulative number of stars for the asset, and sending the re-calculatedcumulative number of stars 730 for storing in fan rating DBs 110.

Asset server 100 may update the “most recent fan review date” field 550in the entry 500 of the cumulative asset fan ratings DB 110-2 for theidentified asset (block 620). Asset server 100 may replace the currentdate or date/time in field 550 with the new review date from review datefield 430 of the content asset. FIG. 7 depicts asset server 100 updating735 the most recent review date/time for the asset, and sending theupdated most recent review date/time 740 to fan rating DBs 110.

Asset server 100 may increment the “# of fan reviews” field 540 in theentry 500 of the cumulative asset fan ratings DB 110-2 for theidentified asset (block 630). Asset server 100 may retrieve the previousnumber of fan reviews from field 540, increment the retrieved number offan reviews, and the store the incremented number of fan reviews back infield 540. FIG. 7 depicts asset server 100 incrementing 745 the numberof reviews for the asset, and sending the incremented number of reviews750 to fan rating DBs 110 for storing in field 540 of DB 110-2.

Asset server 100 may re-calculate the value in the “sorting” field 560in the entry 500 in the cumulative asset fan ratings DB 110-2 for theidentified asset (block 635). Asset server 100 may determine thespecific sorting process currently being used to determine a function tobe used for calculating the sorting value. For example, the sortingprocesses of FIGS. 8, 10, and 12 may be used herein for sorting a listof content assets. If the exemplary process of FIG. 8 is being used tosort the list of content assets, then the sorting value for a givencontent asset may be determined as a function of the most recent fanreview date, the number of fan reviews, the cumulative number of stars,and/or the release date for the content asset. The specific function mayapply weighting values to one or more of the values for the most recentfan review date, the number of fan reviews, the cumulative number ofstars, and/or the release date for the content asset. In oneimplementation, the sorting value may be determined using the followingequation/function:sorting value=number of stars*10⁶+number of reviews*10⁵+releaseyear  Eqn. (1)The specific values for the weighting values 10⁶ and 10⁵ in Eqn. (1) maybe altered/adjusted based on any given implementation. In alternativesto Eqn. (1), the most recent fan review date may also be included inEqn. (1), along with an additional weighting value.

If the exemplary process of FIG. 10 is being used to sort the list ofcontent assets, then the sorting value for a given content asset may beconditionally determined based on a first function or based on a secondfunction that is different than the first function. A conditionalstatement for applying a specific function may be conditional based onthe value of most recent fan review date, the number of fan reviews, thecumulative number of stars, and/or the release date for the contentasset. For example, a first conditional statement may include “if themost recent fan review is less than 3 days old, then . . . ” Thefunction contained in the “then” portion of the conditional statementmay include a function of the most recent fan review date, the number offan reviews, the cumulative number of stars, and/or the release date forthe content asset, where the weighting values may be altered/adjusted(as compared to the weighting values used in Eqn. (1)) based on thespecific implementation. Multiple different conditional statements andcorresponding functions may be used to determine a sorting value for theexemplary process of FIG. 10. In one exemplary embodiment, the sortingvalue may be determined based on the following exemplary conditionalstatements and equations/functions:if the number of reviews is >=5,then the sorting value=number of stars*10⁷+number of reviews*10⁶+releaseyear; orif the number of reviews is <5,then the sorting value=number of stars*10⁶+number of reviews*10⁵+releaseyear.  Eqn. (2)

If the exemplary process of FIG. 12 is being used to sort the list ofcontent assets, then the sorting value for a given content asset may beconditionally determined based on multiple different functions. Multipledifferent conditional statements, functions and weighting values may beused as described above with respect to the exemplary process of FIG.10. In one implementation, the sorting value may be determined based onthe following exemplary conditional statements and equations/functions:if the number of reviews is >=4 and the number of reviews>=5,then the sorting value=number of stars*10⁸+number of reviews;if the number of reviews is =5 and the number of reviews<5,then the sorting value=number of stars*10⁶+number of reviews; orif the number of reviews is =3 and the number of reviews>=5,then the sorting value=number of stars*10⁵+number of reviews.  Eqn. (3)

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram that illustrates a first exemplary process forsearching a corpus of content assets, identifying assets that arerelevant to a search query, and sorting the identified assets based onasset fan review/rating-related information. The exemplary process ofFIG. 8 may be implemented by asset server 100. The exemplary process ofFIG. 8 is described below with reference to the sorting example of FIGS.9A and 9B. The exemplary process of FIG. 8 may employ the sorting valuescalculated by Eqn. (1), as already described above.

The exemplary process may include search engine 140 at asset server 100receiving a search request with a search parameter(s) (block 800). User145 may initiate a search request, via STB 115, mobile device 125 orcomputer 130, which includes one or more search parameters. The searchparameters may include, for example, keywords and, possibly, Booleanoperators. Other types of search parameters may also be used (e.g.,dates, date ranges, genre of content, etc.). Search engine 140 at assetserver 100 may identify assets that are relevant to the searchparameter(s) (block 805). Search engine 140 may use one or more searchalgorithms to search a corpus of content assets to identify contentassets that are relevant to the search parameters contained in thesearch request. For example, if the search request includes a keyword,then search engine 140 can search the corpus of content assets toidentify those assets having associated data that match the keyword. Thecorpus of documents may be stored, for example, in asset DBs 105. FIG.9A depicts an example of an unsorted list 900 of content assets thatsearch engine 140 has identified as being relevant to search parameterscontained in a search request.

Asset server 100 may, for each identified asset, retrieve, fromcumulative asset fan ratings DB 110-2, a number of stars fan rating fromthe “cumulative # of stars” field 530, and a number of fan reviews fromthe “# fan reviews” field 540 (block 810). In the example unsorted list900 of FIG. 9A, the retrieved number of stars 905 and the number of fanreviews for each asset in list 900 are depicted. Asset server 100 may,for identified assets having a five star fan rating, sort the assetsbased on the number of fan reviews (block 815). Referring to list 900,assets B, C, D and I have 5 star fan ratings and a number of reviews of10, 3, 20 and 15, respectively. Therefore, as depicted in sorted list925 of FIG. 9B, the assets have 5 star fan ratings are sorted as thefirst 4 assets 930 in list 925 in the order: D, I, B, C in decreasingnumber of reviews 20, 15, 10, 3.

Asset server 100 may, within identified assets having a same number ofstars that is less than five, and a same number of fan reviews, retrievea release date or date/time from the “release date” field 520 and thesorting value from “sorting” field 560 of cumulative asset fan ratingsDB 110-2 (block 820). Referring to unsorted list 900 of FIG. 9A, assetsA, E, F, G, H and J have a same number of 4 stars (i.e., less than 5).Among these assets, assets H and E both have 15 reviews, and assets Fand A both have 5 reviews. Asset G has 10 reviews and asset J has 20reviews. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9B, asset J, having 20 reviews, islisted first in group 935. Assets E and H, having 4 stars and 15reviews, are listed second and third in group 935. Asset G, having 4stars and 10 reviews, is listed fourth in group 935. Assets A and F,having 4 stars and 5 reviews, are listed fifth and sixth in group 935.

Asset server 100 may, within identified assets having a same number ofstars that is less than five, and a same number of fan reviews, sort theassets based on their release date/time, followed by sorting by thesorting field value (block 825). From block 820, assets H and E bothhave 4 stars and 15 reviews. Asset H has a release date of 1975 andasset E has a release date of 1985. Therefore, in group 935, asset E islisted before asset H. Further, from block 820, assets F and A both have4 stars and 5 reviews. Asset F has a release date of 2013 and asset Ahas a release date of 1999. Therefore, in group 935, asset F is listedbefore asset A. Since the assets have different release dates in theexample sorted list 925 of FIG. 9B, there is no need to rely on thesorting values for each asset.

Asset server 100 may provide the resulting sorted asset list in responseto the search request (block 830). As shown in the example of FIG. 9B,the resulting sorted list 1125 would include assets sorted into thefollowing order: D, I, B, C, J, E, H, G, F, A. Asset server 100 may senda message with the sorted asset list (e.g., sorted list 925 of FIG. 9B)to user 145. The sorted asset list may include, for example, hyperlinksfor each of the content assets in the sorted list, such that selectionof a respective hyperlink by user 145 causes the corresponding contentasset to be requested from asset server 100.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram that illustrates a second exemplary processfor searching a corpus of content assets, identifying assets that arerelevant to a search query, and sorting the identified assets based onasset fan rating-related information. The exemplary process of FIG. 10may be implemented by asset server 100. The exemplary process of FIG. 10is described below with reference to the sorting example of FIGS. 11Aand 11B. The exemplary process of FIG. 10 may employ the sorting valuescalculated by Eqn. (2), as already described above.

The exemplary process may include asset server 100 receiving a searchrequest with a search parameter(s) (block 1000). User 145 may initiate asearch request, via STB 115, mobile device 125 or computer 130, whichincludes one or more search parameters. The search parameters mayinclude, for example, keywords and, possibly, Boolean operators. Othertypes of search parameters may also be used (e.g., dates, date ranges,genre of content, etc.).

Asset server 100 may identify assets that are relevant to the searchparameter(s) (block 1005). Search engine 140 may use one or more searchalgorithms to search a corpus of content assets to identify contentassets that are relevant to the search parameters contained in thesearch request. For example, if the search request includes a keyword,then search engine 140 can search the corpus of content assets toidentify those assets having associated data that match the keyword. Thecorpus of documents may be stored, for example, in asset DBs 105. FIG.11A depicts an example of an unsorted list 1100 of content assets thatsearch engine 140 has identified as being relevant to search parameterscontained in a search request.

Asset server 100 may, for each identified asset, retrieve a number ofreviews from the “# of fan reviews” field 540, the number of stars fromthe “# of stars” field 530, the release date or date/time from the“release date” field 520, and the sorting value from the “sorting” valuefield 560 from the cumulative asset fan ratings DB 110-2 (block 1010).In the example unsorted list 1100 of FIG. 9A, the retrieved number offan reviews 1110, the number of stars 1105, the release date 1115, andthe sorting value 1120 for each asset in list 1100 are depicted.

Asset server 100 may, for each group of assets having five or more fanreviews, and a same number of stars, sort by release date, followed bysorting by the sorting value (block 1015). As can be seen in theunsorted list 1100 of FIG. 11A, assets D, E, and J have 5 or more fanreviews, with asset D having 5 stars, and assets E and J each having 4stars. Therefore, asset D, with 5 or more fan reviews and 5 stars wouldbe, as depicted in FIG. 11B, sorted first in group 1130 of sorted list1125. Then, asset E, having a release date of 1985 would be sorted afterasset J, having a release date of 2011. Thus, the sorted group 1130 ofsorted list 1125 would include assets D, E, and J sorted in the order D,J, E (first to last).

Asset server 100 may, for each group of assets having less than five fanreviews, and a same number of stars, sort by the release date ordate/time, followed by sorting by the sorting value (block 1020). Thesorting value would already have been calculated using the twoconditionally applied functions described above. In the example of FIGS.11A and 11B, assets I, B, and C, having less than five fan reviews andfive stars each, would be sorted in a group 1135 after group 1130. Ascan be seen in FIG. 11B, asset B, having a release date of 2013, wouldbe sorted first before asset I, having a release date of 2012, and assetC, having a release date of 2010. Asset I would, in turn, be sortedbefore asset C in group 1135, where group is sorted after group 1130.Assets F, A, G and H, with each having less than 5 fan reviews and 4stars would be sorted together in a group 1140 after group 1135. Withasset F having a release date of 2013, and asset A having a release dateof 1999, asset F would be sorted first before asset A. Assets G and H,both having release dates of 1975 and a sorting value of 4,201,975,would be sorted third and fourth after assets F and A in group 1140.

Asset server 100 may provide the resulting sorted asset list in responseto the search request (block 1025). As shown in the example of FIG. 11B,the resulting sorted list 1125 would include assets sorted into thefollowing order: D, J, E, B, I, C, F, A, G, H. Asset server 100 may senda message with the sorted asset list (e.g., sorted list 1125 of FIG.11B) to user 145. The sorted asset list may include, for example,hyperlinks for each of the content assets in the sorted list, such thatselection of a respective hyperlink by user 145 causes the correspondingcontent asset to be requested from asset server 100.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram that illustrates a third exemplary process forsearching a corpus of content assets, identifying assets that arerelevant to a search query, and sorting the identified assets based onasset fan rating-related information. The exemplary process of FIG. 12may be implemented by asset server 100. The exemplary process of FIG. 12is described below with reference to the sorting example of FIGS. 13Aand 13B. The exemplary process of FIG. 12 may employ the sorting valuescalculated by Eqn. (3), as already described above.

The exemplary process may include asset server 100 receiving a searchrequest with a search parameter(s) (block 1205). User 145 may initiate asearch request, via STB 115, mobile device 125 or computer 130, whichincludes one or more search parameters. The search parameters mayinclude, for example, keywords and, possibly, Boolean operators. Othertypes of search parameters may also be used (e.g., dates, date ranges,genre of content, etc.).

Asset server 100 may identify assets that are relevant to the searchparameter(s) (block 1210). Search engine 140 may use one or more searchalgorithms to search a corpus of content assets to identify contentassets that are relevant to the search parameters contained in thesearch request. For example, if the search request includes a keyword,then search engine 140 can search the corpus of content assets toidentify those assets having associated data that match the keyword. Thecorpus of documents may be stored, for example, in asset DBs 105. FIG.13A depicts an example of an unsorted list 1300 of content assets thatsearch engine 140 has identified as being relevant to search parameterscontained in a search request.

Asset server 100 may, for each identified asset, retrieve a number ofstars fan rating from the “cumulative # of stars” field 530, a number offan reviews from the “# fan reviews” field 540, a release date ordata/time from the “release date” field 520, and a sorting value fromthe “sorting” value field 560 from the cumulative asset fan ratings DB110-2 (block 1215). In the example unsorted list 1300 of FIG. 13A, theretrieved number of stars 1305, the number of fan reviews 1310, therelease date 1315, and the sorting value 1320 for each asset in list1300 are depicted.

Asset server 100 may group the identified assets in the following groupsin the following ordered list (block 1220):

-   -   5 stars with the number of reviews>=5    -   4 stars with the number of reviews>=5    -   5 stars with the number of reviews<5    -   3 stars with the number of reviews>=5    -   4 stars with the number of reviews<5    -   3 stars with the number of reviews<5    -   2 stars with the number of reviews>=5    -   1 star with the number of reviews>=5    -   2 stars with the number of reviews<5    -   1 star with the number of reviews<5        As depicted in the sorting example of FIG. 13B, asset D, having        five stars and a number of fan reviews of 5, is sorted in a        first group 1330. Assets E and J, each having 4 stars and        greater than five fan reviews, are sorted into a second group        1335 after first group 1330. Assets B, I and C, each having five        stars and less than five fan reviews, are sorted in to a third        group 1340 after second group 1335. Assets F, A, G and H, each        having four stars and less than 5 fan reviews, are sorted into a        fourth group 1345.

Within each of the groups of block 1220, asset server 100 may sort theassets by the release date or date/time, followed by sorting by thesorting value (block 1225). As shown in the sorting example of FIG. 13B,in group 1335, since asset E has a release date of 1985 and asset J hasa release date of 2011, asset J is sorted before asset E in group 1335.In group 1340, since asset B has a release date of 2013, asset I has arelease date of 2012, and asset C has a release date of 2010, the assetsare sorted in the order: B, I, C. In group 1345, since assets F, A, Gand H have respective release dates of 2013, 1999, 1975 and 1975, theassets are sorting within group 1345 in the order: F, A, G, H.

Asset server 100 may provide the resulting sorted list in response tothe search request (block 1230). As shown in the example of FIG. 13B,the resulting sorted list 1125 would include assets sorted into thefollowing order: D, J, E, B, I, C, F, A, G, H. Asset server 100 may senda message with the sorted asset list (e.g., sorted list 1325 of FIG.13B) to user 145. The sorted asset list may include, for example,hyperlinks for each of the content assets in the sorted list, such thatselection of a respective hyperlink by user 145 causes the correspondingcontent asset to be requested from asset server 100.

The foregoing description of implementations provides illustration anddescription, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variationsare possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired frompractice of the invention. For example, while series of blocks have beendescribed with respect to FIGS. 6, 8, 10, and 12, the order of theblocks may be varied in other implementations. Various processes forsorting lists of content assets have been described herein that use acalculated sorting value for sorting content assets among one another,in addition to other criteria for sorting content assets among oneanother. In some implementations, the calculated sorting value may beused for sorting the list of content assets, either by itself, or inconjunction with only one other fan review/comment value. For example, asorting process may sort content assets first by “cumulative number ofstars” and then by sorting value within the content assets having thesame number of stars. The function/equation used to calculate thesorting value may be based on weighting values, and the most recent fanreview date, the number of fan reviews, the cumulative number of stars,and/or the release date for the content asset (e.g., as described abovewith respect to Eqn. (1)). The specific function may apply weightingvalues to one or more of the values for the most recent fan review date,the number of fan reviews, the cumulative number of stars, and/or therelease date for the content asset. The weighting values may be selectedfor the particular sorting application.

Certain features described above may be implemented as “logic” or a“unit” that performs one or more functions. This logic or unit mayinclude hardware, such as one or more processors, microprocessors,application specific integrated circuits, or field programmable gatearrays, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

No element, act, or instruction used in the description of the presentapplication should be construed as critical or essential to theinvention unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, thearticle “a” is intended to include one or more items. Further, thephrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on”unless explicitly stated otherwise.

In the preceding specification, various preferred embodiments have beendescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will, however,be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto,and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing fromthe broader scope of the invention as set forth in the claims thatfollow. The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded inan illustrative rather than restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving, by a device, asearch request, that includes one or more search parameters, forsearching a corpus of assets comprising items of digital content storedin one or more asset databases; identifying, by the device using asearch engine, a list of assets, from the corpus of assets stored in theone or more asset databases, that are relevant to the one or more searchparameters, wherein the list of assets comprises a first asset and otherassets; obtaining, by the device from one or more fan rating databases,a first number of stars associated with fan ratings of the first asset,wherein the first asset comprises a first item of digital content;obtaining, by the device from the one or more fan rating databases, atotal first number of fan reviews of the first asset, wherein the totalfirst number of fan reviews of the first asset comprises a total numberof times that the first asset has been reviewed by a plurality of usersover a period of time; obtaining, by the device from the one or more fanrating databases, a first release year associated with the first asset;determining, by the device, a first sorting value based on a function ofthe first number of stars, the total first number of fan reviews, andthe first release year, wherein the function determines the firstsorting value by multiplying the first number of stars by a firstconstant, adding the total first number of fan reviews multiplied by asecond constant, and adding the first release year; sorting, by thedevice, the first asset among the other assets using the determinedfirst sorting value to create a sorted asset list; providing the sortedasset list to be displayed, in response to the search request;receiving, at the device, an indication of a selected asset from thesorted asset list; and generating and transmitting, by the device, anasset transport stream based on the selected asset.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first number of stars comprises a quantity of starsbetween one and five, wherein each additional star between the one andfive stars represents a higher fan rating of the first asset.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the function determines the sorting valueusing the following relation:first sorting value=first number of stars*WC ₁+total first number of fanreviews*WC ₂+first release year, wherein WC₁ comprises the firstconstant and wherein WC₂ comprises the second constant.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the first constant WC₁ equals 10⁶ and wherein thesecond constant WC₂ equals 10⁵.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thefunction comprises a first function or a second function and furthercomprising: selecting either the first function or the second functionbased on the total first number of fan reviews.
 6. The method of claim5, wherein selecting either the first function or the second functioncomprises:if the total first number of fan reviews is greater than or equal tofive, then the first sorting value=first number of stars*10⁷+total firstnumber of fan reviews*10⁶+first release year, orif the total first number of fan reviews is less than five, then thefirst sorting value=first number of stars*10⁶+total first number of fanreviews*10⁵+first release year.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein thelist of assets further comprises a second asset, and further comprising:obtaining a second number of stars associated with fan ratings of thesecond asset, wherein the second asset comprises a second item ofdigital content; obtaining a total second number of fan reviews of thesecond asset, wherein the total second number of fan reviews of thesecond asset comprises a total number of times that the second asset hasbeen reviewed by the plurality of users; obtaining a second release yearassociated with the second asset; determining a second sorting valuebased on a function of the second number of stars, the total secondnumber of fan reviews, and the second release year; and sorting thesecond asset among the other assets using the determined second sortingvalue.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the function comprises a firstfunction, a second function, or a third function and further comprising:selecting either the first function, the second function or the thirdfunction based on the total first number of fan reviews and the firstnumber of stars.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein selecting either thefirst function, the second function, or the third function comprises:if the first number of stars is >=4 and the total first number of fanreviews is greater than or equal to five, then the first sortingvalue=first number of stars*10⁸+total first number of fan reviews,if the first number of stars is =5 and the total first number of fanreviews is <than five, then the first sorting value=first number ofstars*10⁶+total first number of fan reviews, orif the first number of stars is =3 and the total first number of fanreviews is >=5, then the first sorting value=first number ofstars*10⁵+total first number of fan reviews.
 10. A device, comprising: acommunication interface configured to connect to a network, and to:receive a search request, that includes one or more search parameters,for searching a corpus of assets comprising items of digital contentstored in one or more asset databases; and a processing unit configuredto implement a search engine and to: identify, using the search engine,a list of assets, from the corpus of assets stored in the one or moreasset databases, that are relevant to the one or more search parameters,wherein the list of assets comprises a first asset and other assets,obtain, from one or more fan rating databases via the communicationinterface, a first number of stars associated with fan ratings of afirst asset, wherein the first asset comprises a first item of digitalcontent, obtain, from the one or more fan rating databases via thecommunication interface, a total first number of fan reviews of thefirst asset, wherein the total first number of fan reviews of the firstasset comprises a total number of times that the first asset has beenreviewed by a plurality of users over a period of time, obtain, from theone or more fan rating databases via the communication interface, afirst release year associated with the first asset, determine a firstsorting value based on a function of the first number of stars, thetotal first number of reviews, and the first release year, wherein thefunction determines the first sorting value by multiplying the firstnumber of stars by a first constant, adding the total first number offan reviews multiplied by a second constant, and adding the firstrelease year, sort the first asset among the other assets using thedetermined first sorting value to create a sorted asset list, provide,via the communication interface, the sorted asset list to be displayedin response to the search request, receive, via the communicationinterface, an indication of a selected asset from the sorted asset list,and generate and transmit, via the communication interface, an assettransport stream based on the selected asset.
 11. The device of claim10, wherein the first number of stars comprises a quantity of starsbetween one and five, wherein each additional star between the one andfive stars represents a higher fan rating of the first asset.
 12. Thedevice of claim 10, wherein the function determines the first sortingvalue using the following relation:first sorting value=first number of stars*WC ₁+total first number of fanreviews*WC ₂+first release year, wherein WC₁ comprises the firstconstant and wherein WC₂ comprises the second constant.
 13. The networkdevice of claim 12, wherein the first constant WC₁ equals 10⁶ andwherein the second constant WC₂ equals 10⁵.
 14. The device of claim 10,wherein the function comprises a first function or a second function andwherein the processing unit is further configured to: select either thefirst function or the second function based on the total first number offan reviews.
 15. The device of claim 14, wherein when selecting eitherthe first function or the second function, the processing unit isfurther configured to:if the total first number of fan reviews is greater than or equal tofive, then the first sorting value=first number of stars*10⁷+total firstnumber of fan reviews*10⁶+first release year, orif the total first number of fan reviews is less than five, then thefirst sorting value=first number of stars*10⁶+total first number of fanreviews*10⁵+first release year.
 16. The device of claim 10, wherein thelist of assets further comprises a second asset, and wherein theprocessing unit is further configured to: obtain a second number ofstars associated with fan ratings of the second asset, wherein thesecond asset comprises a second item of digital content; obtain a totalsecond number of fan reviews of the second asset, wherein the totalsecond number of fan reviews of the second asset comprises a totalnumber of times that the second asset has been reviewed by the pluralityof users; obtain a second release year associated with the second asset;determine a second sorting value based on a function of the secondnumber of stars, the total second number of fan reviews, and the secondrelease year; and sort the second asset among the other assets using thedetermined second sorting value.
 17. The device of claim 10, wherein thefunction comprises a first function, a second function, or a thirdfunction and wherein the processing unit is further configured to:select either the first function, the second function or the thirdfunction based on the total first number of fan reviews and the firstnumber of stars.
 18. The device of claim 17, wherein when selectingeither the first function, the second function, or the third function,the processing unit is further configured to:if the first number of stars is >=4 and the total first number of fanreviews is greater than or equal to five, then the first sortingvalue=first number of stars*10⁸+total first number of fan reviews,if the first number of stars is =5 and the total first number of fanreviews is <than five, then the first sorting value=first number ofstars*10⁶+total first number of fan reviews, orif the first number of stars is =3 and the total first number of fanreviews is >=5, then the first sorting value=first number ofstars*10⁵+total first number of fan reviews.
 19. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium containing instructions executable by at leastone processing unit of a device, the computer-readable medium comprisingone or more instructions for: receiving, by the device, a searchrequest, that includes one or more search parameters, for searching acorpus of assets comprising items of digital content stored in one ormore asset databases; identifying, using a search engine, a list ofassets, from the corpus of assets stored in the one or more assetdatabases, that are relevant to the one or more search parameters,wherein the list of assets comprises a first asset and other assets;obtaining, from one or more fan rating databases, a first number ofstars associated with fan ratings of a first asset, wherein the firstasset comprises a first item of image, video or audio digital contentand wherein the first number of stars comprises an average of a numberof stars applied by a group of reviewing users over a first period oftime; obtaining, from the one or more fan rating databases, a totalfirst number of fan reviews of the first asset, wherein the total firstnumber of fan reviews comprise a sum total of reviews by the group ofreviewing users over a second period of time; obtaining, from the one ormore fan rating databases, a first release year associated with thefirst asset; determining a first sorting value based on a mathematicalfunction applied to the first number of stars, the total first number offan reviews, and the first release year, wherein the mathematicalfunction determines the first sorting value by multiplying the firstnumber of stars by a first constant, adding the total first number offan reviews multiplied by a second constant, and adding the firstrelease year; sorting the first asset among the other assets using thedetermined first sorting value to produce a sorted asset list; causingthe sorted asset list to be sent to be displayed in response to thesearch request; receiving, at the device, an indication of a selectedasset from the sorted asset list; and generating and transmitting, bythe device, an asset transport stream based on the selected asset. 20.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein themathematical function determines the first sorting value using thefollowing relation:first sorting value=first number of stars*WC ₁+total first number of fanreviews*WC ₂+first release year, wherein WC₁ comprises the firstconstant and wherein WC₂ comprises the second constant.
 21. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the list ofassets further comprises a second asset, and the computer-readablemedium further comprising one or more instructions for: obtaining asecond number of stars associated with fan ratings of the second asset,wherein the second asset comprises a second item of image, video oraudio digital content and wherein the second number of stars comprisesan average of a number of stars applied by the group of reviewing users;obtaining a total second number of fan reviews of the second asset,wherein the total second number of fan reviews of the second assetcomprises a sum total of reviews by the group of reviewing users overthe period of time; obtaining a second release year associated with thesecond asset; determining a second sorting value based on themathematical function applied to the second number of stars, the totalsecond number of fan reviews, and the second release year; and sortingthe second asset among the other assets using the determined secondsorting value to produce the list of sorted assets.
 22. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein themathematical function comprises a first function or a second functionand the computer-readable medium further comprising one or moreinstructions for: selecting either the first function or the secondfunction based on the total first number of fan reviews, whereinselecting either the first function or the second function comprises:if the total first number of fan reviews is greater than or equal tofive, then the first sorting value=first number of stars*10⁷+total firstnumber of fan reviews*10⁶+first release year, orif the total first number of fan reviews is less than five, then thefirst sorting value=first number of stars*10⁶+total first number of fanreviews*10⁵+first release year.
 23. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 19, wherein the function comprises a first function, asecond function, or a third function and the one or morecomputer-readable medium further comprising one or more instructionsfor: selecting either the first function, the second function or thethird function based on the total first number of fan reviews and thefirst number of stars, wherein selecting either the first function, thesecond function, or the third function comprises:if the first number of stars is >=4 and the total first number of fanreviews is greater than or equal to five, then the first sortingvalue=first number of stars*10⁸+total first number of fan reviews,if the first number of stars is =5 and the total first number of fanreviews is <than five, then the first sorting value=first number ofstars*10⁶+total first number of fan reviews, orif the first number of stars is =3 and the total first number of fanreviews is >=5, then the first sorting value=first number ofstars*10⁵+total first number of fan reviews.